Interpretations are flying fast regarding the impact of an order a Commonwealth Court judge issued Thursday blocking implementation of part of an executive order by Gov. Tom Wolf that opponents claim illegally abets efforts to unionize home care workers.

Both sides, its seems, are declaring at least some measure of victory.

President Judge Dan Pellegrini's granting of a preliminary injunction bars Wolf from entering into any memorandum of mutual understanding relating to his Executive Order 2015-05 until a Commonwealth Court panel can hear challenges to the order.

Pellegrini's injunction equates to at least a five-month moratorium on the signing of any potential union representation agreement for home care workers, since that court hearing won't occur until September.

The preliminary injunction was sought by a Don Lambrecht, a home care worker represented by The Fairness Center, a nonprofit law firm that claims to fight for people facing unjust treatment by public employee unions.

David Osborne, the center's general counsel, billed Pelligrini's ruling as a triumph. "The injunction prevents the most crucial part of the executive order from happening until the case can have a full hearing," he said.

Wolf, meanwhile, issued a statement also calling the judge's ruling "a victory for seniors, consumers, and direct care attendants." Pellegrini's decision permits the bulk of the initiatives in his executive order to proceed, the governor insisted.

His executive order would not force home care workers to join a union or give them the right to enter into a labor contract with the state, nor would it make them state employees, Wolf said. Rather, he said, it "is one key part of an overall plan designed to provide choices for seniors, efficiencies in home and community-based care, and offset over $162 million in costs to taxpayers."

Wolf said his executive order opens the door for give-and-take on ideas to improve the home care system and he called for "a robust conversation about how we deliver care to those who need it most."

Jeff Sheridan, a Wolf spokesman, stressed that Pellegrini's order won't interfere with an ongoing election by the care workers to choose representation for talks with the state on improving the system. The injunction affects only "the last step" in the process that begins with that election, which might or might not lead to selection of a representative, he said.

Sheridan said that, based on media reports, the United Home Health Care Workers of Pennsylvania, a partnership of a partnership of the Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, has been campaigning for votes to become that representative.

The fight surrounding Wolf's executive order has a strong political element. Steve Miskin, spokesman for the House Republicans, called Wolf's claim of victory regarding Pellegrini's ruling a work of "fiction."

In their brief, Turzai and Scarnati accuse the governor of trying to circumvent the Legislature by using the executive order to "make new law" and create a means for home health care employees to unionize. Wolf's bid is an "unconstitutional encroachment" on the Legislature's authority and should be deemed invalid, the GOP leaders contend.

Senate GOP leaders issued their own statement blasting Wolf's victory claim. They billed Pellegrini's decision as a win against the governor's "overreaching" executive order, insisting it will "clearly forbid his administration from moving this effort forward."

"We will continue our pursuit of intervening in this matter to support the freedom of individual home health-care workers to work independently and directly with those for whom they provide care," the Republicans said.

Pennsylvania Homecare Association CEO Vicki Hoak, whose group entered the court fight in opposition to Wolf's order, said she is pleased Pellegrini's ruling ensures "that nothing will be altered with how care is delivered until the full court has the chance to hear the case."

Like Wolf, the United Home Health Care Workers of Pennsylvania issued a statement calling Pellegrini's injunction order a win since it does not short-circuit the representation election, which is being overseen by the American Arbitration Association and is to conclude Thursday.

"Unfortunately, both direct care workers and the consumers they care for have too often been invisible in the policy debates in Harrisburg," said Neal Bisno, chair of the United Home Health Care Workers group. "The voices of consumers and workers have been drowned out by well-resourced lobby groups representing for-profit nursing homes, home care agencies, and others."

The state's home care system "has been held back by low wages and poor conditions for direct care workers," he said.